The reality in Nigeria: most of the poor always stand with power, support it and justify its abuses whenever it’s directed at other poor folks who have more values or consciousness than themselves. They do this anytime other poor folks demand their rights. Something the majority cannot do, even though they suffer the most. Among the victims of the country’s poor naivety are academics. Those national assets who sacrifice their entire lives to build the intellectual strength of the country.
The poor always blame the victims of oppression, not the oppressors. We see this clearly in how the public reacts to university lecturers whenever they speak or act collectively under the leadership of ASUU. The academics are oppressed, but when they protest, they’re met not with public solidarity, but with mockery and blame. Those who suffer the most are the first to mock, condemn, and sabotage them… the very masses who should be standing with them.
It’s difficult to summarize this sad reality. But take ASUU strikes over time as an example. These strikes are not just about salaries, they’re about funding, dignity and the future of education. But every time, the public turns on them: students, parents, and even those who expect these academics to train students that will one day return to cater for their needs. They forget the welfare of the academics who are building those future helpers.
Most recently, ASUU threatened another strike after lecturers’ salaries were withheld for over a month. It wasn’t the first time, neither under Tinubu’s administration nor past governments. But within just two days, noise erupted everywhere—not against the oppressors, but against the lecturers fighting for their rights. The starved poor insulted and vilified them. They ignored the literal tears of professors who can no longer feed their families. Some had even turned to selling tomatoes by the roadside just to survive. Their meagre salaries don’t last 15 days in a month—and now, even those were withheld. Thankfully, a miracle happened: the salaries were paid, and the strike was suspended.
Let me break it down more. Millions of Nigerians can’t afford two square meals a day. I swear this is our reality. But somehow, these same Nigerians become fanatical defenders of the very political elites responsible for their suffering. They defend leaders who can’t even provide them with basic security or hope. And they do this just for fun without any sponsorship.
Why?
I can only guess. Maybe it’s blind loyalty to politicians they voted for. Maybe it’s a warped religious interpretation that tells them to support authority, no matter how unjust. They mistake obedience to God for submission to human tyranny.
Many accuse university lecturers of being ungrateful. They say they should be content just to have jobs in a jobless economy. To them, that’s enough justification for silence. When they suffer, they cry only to God but never holding those in power accountable for their misery. Their only national participation is to show up on election day to vote for their oppressors.
I speak as one of the poor. I face blame too, anytime I criticize government wrongdoing. I’ve cried. I’ve been called hells. People tell me not to question power. They believe the government is too powerful to fight. But they forget, we gave that power to them. We elected them to serve us. They cannot govern without our mandate.
Yes, some elites and so-called intellectuals also support bad governments. But my harshest words are for the poor, because they are the majority. They have the real power to change Nigeria. But instead, they fight those among them who refuse to remain silent. They are the most effective tools in the hands of oppressors and not because they’re paid, but because they’ve been brainwashed to fight their fellow poor for nothing but false beliefs.
Primary and secondary school teachers? Their condition is even worse. Forgotten. Buried. No one talks about them anymore. They’ve accepted defeat. But the university lecturers, those who still fight back are my concern. I support them not just because they teach me, but because they represent resistance. They stand against injustice. And that’s a principle I live for.
Sadly, many lecturers are losing hope. I know some who are preparing to quit academia entirely. They no longer see a future here. They see a nation that mocks their suffering and a government that doesn’t prioritize them. And when they speak, the only voices loud enough to drown them are those of the hungry poor who should have stood by them and learned from them.
This must change!
The poor in Nigeria are never serious with their lives. Their silence and blind loyalty have chained us in modern slavery. We’re not ready for development. We don’t challenge oppression. We mock those who reject it.
Sufi is a 300-level undergraduate student of Mass Communication at ABU Zaria.